


A Call Home

by Starfleet_Command_Unit_Bi



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:02:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24023287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starfleet_Command_Unit_Bi/pseuds/Starfleet_Command_Unit_Bi
Summary: Seven makes a call back to earth.
Relationships: Chakotay/Kathryn Janeway
Comments: 11
Kudos: 61





	A Call Home

Seven stared at the monitor, trapped in her own head, hand hovering over the buttons. 

It had been over an hour since she’d been in that position, unable to force herself to start the call, and her anxiety was just getting worse and worse. It had only been weeks since she’d last called but that had just been a brief conversation to reassure everyone that she really wasn’t dead. Their last proper conversation had been months ago. Seven wasn’t sure what to say after that long of a gap, after everything she had done in that time. 

She pressed the button.

For a little while longer Seven waited, for the call to connect, for the call to be answered, and she contemplated hanging up and completely giving up on the whole idea but before she could move to do so, a familiar looking face replaced the waiting icon, taking up the entire screen. Despite having just recently turned seventeen the month before, if Seven’s assumption of the current day was correct, Anika Janeway still looked as childish and excitable as ever. An appearance of her godmother and favourite aunt often did little to help that.

“Hi!” the girl said excitedly. “I’ve called mum and dad down, they’re just coming. Are you alright? They’re still talking about everything that’s happened in the news? Are you with friends?”

“I’m alright, Annie,” Seven replied. “I’m with the La Sirena’s crew.”

“You’re on a ship called the mermaid?”

“I think that’s the translation, yes.”

Before Anika could continue her tirade of questions, and Seven didn’t doubt that there were hundreds of them, more voices, achingly familiar and sounding like home, joined in the background and the girl pulled away. Now on the monitor, stood alongside their youngest daughter, were Kathryn and Chakotay, grinning at her, as well as Phoebe and Belle, who Seven had thought were still at university. 

“It’s good to see you again, Seven,” Kathryn told her. “We’ve heard you’re keeping busy.”

The words were said with a sly smile and a spark in Kathryn’s eye. For just a moment, Seven thought she was back on Voyager again, learning how to make jokes, making friends, finding her family. Her family was bigger now, bigger than it had been a couple of weeks before, and felt even more precious. 

“Well, Picard needed help. Again.”

“I once told him it was like he got all of the easy missions and I worry he took it as a challenge to prove me wrong.”

“I’ll remember that the next time phaser blasts start going,” Seven smiled.

“Did you really go to the synth homeworld?” Phoebe asked. 

“I did.”

“That’s so cool. You know, now they’ve lifted the ban, we’re allowed to start using the cybernetic kits for our projects now,” Phoebe said. “We have to be monitored and stuff ‘cause they haven’t been used in over a decade, but it’s so cool. A bunch of us are reconsidering what we’re doing our theses on next year because of it.”

“That reminds me, aren’t you supposed to be at university?”

“No, they end for the summer earlier. Annie’s still got school for another month,” Belle told her. “So we get to be at home relaxing whilst she wakes up at six for school.”

“Be nice to your sister,” Kathryn reminded her. “Or we’ll wake you two up with her.”

“And that’s the worst punishment,” Seven warned jokingly.

The three girls grinned at her. Through some strange fluke of nature, Tuvok knew the exact chances of it happening and Seven would be able to work it out in seconds if she tried, most of the children born from the Voyager crew were girls, Naomi, the Janeway children, Miral and her sister, Harriet, and a number of other children born once Voyager returned home. It made the yearly reunions very interesting, even though Seven didn’t often attend them anymore. Something inside of her, near where the ache when she first saw them all was, made her want to change that.

“What are your crew like?” Chakotay asked her. “Are they treating you well?”

“They’re good,” Seven said, unable to come up with a better way of explaining it. There was no way to describe what mornings were like, all gathered in the mess hall, Picard drinking his tea, Rios or Raffi teaching Elnor something new about human culture, Agnes talking excitedly to Soji about a book series they’d discovered they both loved, in the same way Seven struggled to describe what life with the Voyager crew was like. She supposed that was good, in a way. Not quite functioning as a family, but they were getting there. “They’re, uh, they’re good people.”

“Are you going to come and visit?” Annie asked.

Seven could tell the girl had been wanting to ask that question desperately, seeing it in her eyes, watching as she waited for each member of her family to say something before deciding that meant it was her turn to talk. 

“We should be on earth for about a week or so soon,” she said slowly. “I’m sure I’ll be able to spend a few days visiting, if that’s alright.”

“That’s awesome!” Annie exclaimed, fist bumping.

“We’ll be thrilled to see you again, Seven,” Kathryn told her sincerely. “We’ve been worried about you. I know you’re doing good, and we’re so very proud of you for that, but we have missed you.”

“I’ve missed you all too.”

“Who have you missed the most?”

“Belle,” Chakotay warned, ruffling his daughter’s hair. “Don’t ask that.”

“It’s a stupid question because the answer is obviously me,” Annie announced, starting an argument between the three. 

The call was swapped to a different monitor in the Janeway home and Seven waited a moment before Kathryn and Chakotay appeared, without their children. The sounds of bickering could be heard faintly in the background. Seven readjusted in her seat, expecting the conversation to go down a much more serious path. 

“Really, Seven how are you holding up?” Chakotay asked kindly. He didn’t need to say why. Icheb’s death weighed heavily on her mind all the time, it would most likely always do that, and they were all aware of it. A memorial service had been held on earth a few days before with as many members of Voyager’s crew in attendance as possible.

“I’m … I’m adjusting,” she said truthfully.

It was the truth, she was proud to say. 

Nothing was easy about the situation. She’d lost Icheb, she’d got into more dangerous fights than she had in years, she’d been in a borg cube, she’d been the borg queen… Seven was beginning to lose track of everything that had happened, though when she went to sleep she always remembered, but she was getting better. 

“Good, we’re so proud of you, Seven. Really. You’re doing great work, I hope you know that, but we want to make sure you’re taking care of yourself.”

“I know, thank you.”

“Now, I have a very important question about the captain of your ship,” Janeway said, growing very serious. “Is he better than me?”

“Of course not.”


End file.
